Nicole George de Pineda

Sunday School Fun

Nicole George de Pineda — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:22:21 +0000

I had a great time teaching Sunday School at the Foundation Church today. The kids are absolutely precious, and I love the opportunity to work alongside of my husband. I usually work more with the younger kids, while Alexis works with the older kids and the ones that know how to read. We learned about Samson and Delilah today and the kids enjoyed glueing on yarn for Samson´s long hair!

A Great Evening

Nicole George de Pineda — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:59:04 +0000

On August 3rd, this past Monday, we had a benefit concert for the Open Arms Foundation, and it was a great success! We were able to raise some much needed funding, and the name of the Foundation became better known throughout Medellin. Not only was the theater filled, but all the performers did an excellent job. We had singers and dancers from Colombia, Costa Rica, and the United States. I was especially proud of the Foundation children that participated–some from the impoverished neighborhood of Moravia and others from the boys´ home. I was happy to have the privilege of working backstage to help coordinate the event, and to also translate for the team visiting from the US.

The kids from Moravia did an amazing job!

They performed several typical Colombian dances and I was so impressed!

Youth from West Virginia performed contemporary dances.

Even Miss Antioquia (the state in which Medellin is located) made an appearance!

The grand finale--the kids are holding up stars that say "Look at me, don´t ignore me", and hearts that say "Thanks for your support".

Two of the dancers from Moravia at rehearsal the day before the concert.

Words From Some Of Our Patio Girls

Nicole George de Pineda — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:45:39 +0000

Ruby and Yulieth share why they like to attend our Patio day program at the Open Arms Foundation.

The translation—

Nicole: Hello. What is your name?

Ruby: Ruby Arango Galvis.

Nicole: How old are you?

Ruby: 14

Nicole: And what is your name?

Yulieth: Karen Yulieth

Nicole: And how old are you?

Yulieth: 13

Nicole: Why do you like to come to the Foundation?

Ruby: Because they teach us many things, because here they help us leave behind the drugs, and because it is a really good place.

Nicole: And Yulieth?

Yulieth: So that I don´t wander around the streets, and so that I don´t develop bad habits in the streets nor have bad influences.

Nicole: Great. Thanks, girls.

Ruby: You´re welcome.

Hanging out at the farm…

Nicole George de Pineda — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:32:17 +0000

I love getting to spend time with our boys at the farm, but rarely get to do so, so it was a special treat to head up there with a short-term team that visited recently. Here are some random photos of Alexis, me, and the boys.

Miguel Angel and Alexis

Ylimar, Alexander, Guillermo, and Andres in the dining room

Jonatan and Nicole

an "asado" (cookout) with the boys

The boys always love working alongside the teams with the work projects

Maybe my country does like my husband after all.

Nicole George de Pineda — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:54:01 +0000

It was kind of a sad joke before that the United States did not like Alexis (after two visa rejections), but after a positive day in the US Embassy, we feel that this is no longer true! We arrived early to the Embassy yesterday at 6:15am, and left content at 2:00pm with a visa approval. While we had been a bit nervous, we shouldn’t have been since of course all was under the Lord’s control. We even had the appointment with the same consul that received my petition about a month and a half ago, and he told me that he remembered me (which to me is quite amazing since they must each talk to at least 100 people everyday seeking visas)! And although he was serious, he was also friendly.

Alexis and I are pretty tired today, but happy to be home after a long week in Bogota full of errands. We caught a 5:00pm bus last night and finally made it to Medellin at 4:30am (the trip took much longer than normal). Thank you very much for your support and prayers. I am just so happy that my husband now has a visa and that he will someday soon get to know the world from which I come and meet the rest of my family and friends. The Lord is good!

Alexis in the "Plaza de Bolivar" (during our time in Bogota, we did have some time to explore the city a bit).

The Lord is Good to Me

Nicole George de Pineda — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:31:54 +0000

It has not been an easy couple of weeks, but I feel the Lord´s peace and have experienced His hand guiding me. I have made the difficult decision to no longer continue with the girls in the Patio. I still arrive to the downtown center these days with tears in my eyes as I think about not being able to continue with these girls in the same capacity as before, but I also now no longer have the pain in my back that I normally experienced as I worked. After several meetings, I have decided to continue the work that I was previously doing with the Foundation sponsors (Foundation newsletters, child updates, etc.) with the hopes of increasing this a bit as well, and will also soon begin grant writing. (By the way, I actually know pretty much nothing about writing grants, so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions to help me, please let me know! I have found a couple of grant writing courses online that I do plan to take). Many people in the Foundation are quite pleased with this part of my new job roles as we are currently in a financial crisis and each month we have been going into more debt. I am also excited to share that another part of my new reponsibilities will be to work with our girls living at the home once a week. Things are a lot calmer at the home than in the Patio, and I will not have any strenuous job responsibilities as before, so I am excited that I may continue to have direct contact regularly with some of the Foundation kids. Plus the girls at the home are just so sweet and it is so cool to get to see such wonderful changes in their lives from when they first moved there! I have also been quite busy recently helping with short-term teams visiting the Foundation. It has been really fun and I am excited to be able to head up to the Boys´ Farm this Sunday with my husband and a team for a few days. I have not been able to visit the boys there for about seven months! The Lord is good to me.

I am also excited to share that we just found out last week that Alexis has his visa appointment at the US Embassy in Bogotá on Wednesday, June 24th! This appointment came up so much faster than we thought, but I am feeling very excited and hopeful. We plan to travel to Bogotá next Thursday, the 18th, so that we can pick up some necessary papers at a government office beforehand and for Alexis´ required medical and laboratory exams. Please pray that all will go well on this trip and at the embassy. Please also pray that we will have all of the needed finances as this will turn out to be a rather expensive trip due to our extended stay in Bogotá and with all of the normal visa expenses. I am really hoping that by the end of the month Alexis will have his visa and we can plan a trip to the States to visit everyone in December!

Thank you for your love, support, and encouragment!

A mini-party at the Girls´Home (Luisa (10), Daniela (14), and Evelin (11) (left to right))

I Love My Husband

Nicole George de Pineda — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:04:04 +0000

As of today, Alexis and I have been married for 6 months. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful man!

Happiness is Peanut Butter and Pop Tarts

Nicole George de Pineda — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:34:51 +0000

Yum!

It is true that I love peanut butter and I would eat it everyday if possible, but I would never buy it here as it costs more than twice what one would pay in the States. And although I didn´t buy Pop Tarts all that often while living in the U.S., it is funny how I begin to crave things simply because they are just not possible to get ahold of here. So it was a nice treat to have my friend who is visiting for the week bring me these items. Thank you, Laurie! (By the way, please pray for Laurie as she hopes to return to Colombia full-time next year as a missionary with the Open Arms Foundation). It has been a personal blessing to me to be able to spend some time with this friend, too, since she is a physical therapist and has been giving me helpful advice regarding my back and more about what I should and should not be doing.

I really appreciate all of your encouragement and prayers for me as I seek the Lord´s direction with my roles with the Foundation. I have been in various meetings recently discussing job options and needs with the Foundation that would also not be physically strenuous and damaging to my back. I will report my news as soon as things become more certain and official.

Wisdom

Nicole George de Pineda — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:23:59 +0000

Yes. Wisdom is what I especially want from the Lord right now. I feel very torn. I love the girls I work with in the Patio. I love seeing them study and improve their reading and writing. I love seeing them eat a good meal (even if they get mad at me for making them eat their salad). I love getting to see them play in the swimming pool or on the soccerfield and have wholesome fun. I like that we can have them for the day and keep them away from the horrible life of drugs, prostitution, and violence that surrounds them the rest of the time. I love to see them make good decisions for their lives, and to take important steps in leaving the streets behind (although this is a very hard and long process). I just love to simply see them smile as they feel safe in our loving and protected environment. BUT my back has been doing very badly lately. I usually work with a small amount of pain most of the time, but recently my back got so bad that one day I could not straighten it and could barely walk. I have now spent about four days resting a lot and have improved a little, but am concerned as the pain is still worse than normal. I certainly do not want to do any more damage to my back nor do I want to have to go through another surgery. So please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom in what I should do. I know that all jobs with the Foundation are important and have the same purpose of helping restore the lives of street children, but I am very sad because if I do make a change to my responsibilities, it will be very hard for me to not be able to see and work with the girls in the same capacity.

Please check out these photos of the girls painting posters used for a mini-march for children´s rights held last week in the section downtown where much of the sexual exploitation and drug use occurs.

Karen

Yesica

Tatiana

The Lord is my Protector

Nicole George de Pineda — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:42:50 +0000

Earlier this week, as I walked down the stairs of the Prado metro station and began to look for girls to invite to the Patio program for the day, a kid approached me with a knife and told me to give him all my money and my cell phone. I told him that I didn’t have any money or a cell phone, but he persisted saying that I of course had to have a cell phone because I am “gringa”. Our conversation and interaction went on and on. It was probably one of the most frightening five minutes that I have ever experienced. While I have received threats from street kids before, and even threats to stab me, I have never been threatened with an actual weapon present. I know that it was only through the Lord’s protection that I escaped that situation unharmed and without losing anything. So please keep praying! Also, my co-worker, Johana, received a threat from one of the street girls this week, so we would both appreciate your prayer coverage. Please also pray that the Lord would remove any spirit of fear that I have as I am still feeling nervous about returning to that area.

The good thing about this scary incident is that I am hopefully learning to be more careful and wiser. I do not plan to return to Prado alone, and I plan to always go straight to the Foundation first in the mornings to leave my personal belongings (like my cell phone and wedding band) before looking for the girls. I am also reminded to continually trust in the Lord and remember that He is my Protector and is always with me. And, after all, the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.

Some of the reasons why I love to go to work...